Lilia Vega: "About ten years ago, I was inducted into a secret society in my family. The ones who know, and the ones who protect. We are the guardians of the family. The bodies we put between them and Him.

He is a dark presence in our family, the man I call grandfather. He sits on the fringes of family gatherings, braying in that low, distinctive voice of his. He’s a charming man, but whenever he makes a joke, no one looks at him as they laugh. No one calls him “father.”

Is a secret really a secret if everyone knows?"

This piece was produced by Chelsea Kigano, Emily Shaw, Lilia Vega, and Lily Sloane, as part of The 24-Hour Radio Race from KCRW's Independent Producer Project in 2019.